Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Capers, Pine Nuts
September 15, 2010 
There has been a bonanza in tomatoes around here this month, thanks to our friends Brian and Diane. They gave us a lot of their garden excess of tomatoes because they knew I would put them to good use and indeed I did. I took twenty pounds and made Roasted Tomato Soup and froze it in batches. We then had one of our favorite dinners, Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes and Pancetta.
The mother lode of tomatoes and then cut and ready to be roasted
I also made this vegetarian version of stuffed tomatoes. They are flavored with capers and toasted pine nuts and contain no meat. They make a nice side dish for grilled meats.
As I've said before, don't use capers packed in vinegar - use the ones packed in salt. They are much better and will give you the flavor you need for this dish.
Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Capers, Pine Nuts
for a printable recipe, click here
serves about 4
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs *
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon capers packed in salt, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* Make your own fresh bread crumbs by simply grinding up bread in your food processor.
Instructions:
Slice the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Place tomatoes on paper towels, cut side down, to drain for about 30 minutes.
In a small skillet over medium high heat, toast the pine nuts lightly until just golden brown. Be careful not to burn.
In a small bowl, toss together the pine nuts, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper, capers and parsley. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil and toss.
Stuff the tomatoes with this mixture and place them in a baking dish that is sprayed with a little non-stick spray. Drizzle the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil over the tomatoes. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, until the tops are nicely golden. Scatter with additional chopped parsley on top to serve.
Reader Comments (19)
this look fabulous. I don't usually like cooked tomatoes (too many crappy ones in London on their traditional breakfast).
I stuff tomatoes and a few more vegetables too. Although in India we stuff practically any vegetable and eat! For tomatoes I sometimes use cooked herbed rice with some nuts. That tastes amazing as well.
Love this recipe. Will be trying for sure!
I always look forward to your posts. They are so thoughtful and detailed and your photos are amazing.
I've made your spaghetti with roasted tomatoes and pancetta a couple of times and it is wonderful. So glad you posted another stuffed tomato recipe, I will be trying this one for sure!
These are delicious little morsels and perfect for using up that surplus of tomatoes.
When I first made your Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes and Pancetta, it was an absolute rock'n roll. My boyfriend loved it and now stuffed tomatoes have a special place on our table :) Thank you!
What a perfect way to use left over tomatoes. I love stuffed tomatoes, but never tried it with pine nuts and capers. Thanks for the great ideas!
This looks fabulous!
Delicious! This is a recipe I will certainly try!
Wonderful. The stuffed tomatoes look sooo good!
How delicious looking these tomatoes are and what great bounty your friends gifted you with!
Your friends certainly gave the tomatoes to the right person! Beautiful visuals as always Elaine!
These look great! The texture and flavor coming from the pine nuts sound terrific!
Just a beautiful tomato dish; I'll have to make this one to add to my tomato recipe collection. Grazie mille!
I love your photography!
i will be making this over the upcoming wknd. thnx for the beautiful idea
I made these last weekend and they were excellent.Totally a new experience and they were a hit. Thanks!
I have to say, this is a great blog. The pictures and recipes are fabulous. It is my first time on your site, but I will be back.I love stuffed tomatoes, and I make a stuffed tomato with rice and raisins. This recipe looks really tasty I will definetely use gluten free breadcrumbs and give it a try.
I do not cook but had to entertain a group last minute. This was absolutely delicious and incredibly easy to make. I used extra olive oil when browning the pine nuts and used that as a drizzle before putting in the oven. Also forgot to buy capers but recipe was fine without them. My guests said it was delicious!